Editorial: Real immigration reform must be comprehensive

How can you tell when a politician is talking nonsense about immigration?

No, it’s not when his lips are moving, though that would often be true.

When a politician addresses the matter and speaks only about one side of the story, focusing on border control and saying nothing about the millions of immigrants already here illegally, or vice versa, there’s no need to take his comments seriously.

He’s just looking for votes or trying to placate a specific interest group.

On the other hand, when an elected official addresses both the border and the illegals among us, there’s at least a reasonable chance that he’s talking seriously.

There are people here illegally who have been living and working among us for years. The hard-liners who want illegals to return home and then apply for admission to our nation are missing a fundamental point: First, and foremost, for a great many, this is their home.

Imagine a couple who’ve been working like crazy for years, raising a family, hoping against hope for a better tomorrow for their children. If they were told to go home, they might quite reasonably suggest that they are already there.

President Obama on Tuesday sought to address both sides of the debate. We’ve had such success controlling our borders, he said in an address in El Paso, Texas, that it’s now time to talk about a path toward citizenship for those who are already here.

He’s talking sensibly. Some, of course, will immediately dismiss his statements as just more of the same. But they’ll be focusing on just one side of the debate.